Orchard-heater.



J. L. HAMILTON.

ORCHARD HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

WITNESSES:

A TTORNEY JAMES L. HAMILTON, 0F GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO.

ORCHARD-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 21, 1914;.

Application filed May 21, 1913. Serial No. 769,092.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES L. HAMILTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Junction in the county of Mesa and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Orchard-Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in orchard heaters adapted for the efficient and semismokeless combustion of all of the many varieties of fuel oils derived from petroleumfrom different sections of the country.

The object of the present improvement s l to provide a heater having a large fuel ca- Fig. 3 is a top plan view showin pacity and having means whereby the sur face combustion of the fuel within the reservo1r may be localized and air for such local combustion supplied in such a manner that the combustion will remain substantially uniform until the fuel is entirely consumed.

The preferred form of construction of my improved orchard heater'is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure, 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heater in operation. Fig. 2 is a crosssection view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the arrangement of the air draft tubes. the damper for regulating the admission of air into the combustion chamber through the air draft tubes.

Similar reference characters. refer to similar parts in each of the views.

' There is an increasing demand for orchard heaters having a much larger fuel storage capacity than has been usual heretofore, in order to'reduce the labor and expense of frequent refilling of the heaters during the frost period. c

The cheaper class of fuel oils which, are

necessarily used in orchard heaters contain,

especially in the extreme west and many sections of the south, large percentages of asphaltum. In the usual types of heaters heretofore generally employed the combustion of the fuel is entirely from the surface. As the combustion proceeds and the surface of the fuel is thereby lowered, less air reaches the surface and the combustion is thus made lesseflicientand complete. This condition also results in the early combustion of the more volatile constituents of the fuel oil whereby a very poor and lean grade of fuel is left in the lower part of the reservoir, sometimes amounting to twenty-five per cent, of the original amount, in the form of asphalt-um residuum which .is practically incombustible with the limited air supply then available. With the increase in size and fuel storage capacity of orchard heaters, it has been found more difficult to control and regulate the surface combustion which should be confined to a limited area of the surface of the fueland continue at an eflicientand substantially uniform rate as the surface is lowered by combustion.

My improved heater comprises a fuel reservoir 5 which is preferably made taper-- mg as shown so a number of reservoirs may be closely packed or nested for shipment and storage. A cover 6-is provided which is removably fitted to the top of the reservoir. Forthe purpose of confining the combustion of the fuelin the reservoir to a definite and 1 .limited area of its surface a combustion compartment is provided. This consists of a The upper'end of the combustion compartment 7 extends above the surface of the fuel in the reservoir at all times.

A collar 9 is secured to an opening in the cover 6 being preferably located at the opposite side of the fuel reservoir from the combustion compartment 7. This collar 9 is provided with a. series of draft openings 10 near its base. A tapering draft tube or chimney 11 is removably fitted to the collar 9, and is provided with numerous air inlet openings 12 at its upper and smaller end. A central air supply tube 13 having numerous openings 14 is provided for the purpose of admitting air to the central part of I the burning gases within the chimney 11 in' order to-insure morecomplete and smokeless combustion. Air is admitted to the lowerend of this air supply tube through a horizontal 'tube 15 which extends through the side walls ofthe reservoir and is prochamber, and supplying the air required in such a manner as to maintain a substantially uniform rate of combustion until the fuel is entirely consumed, a series of draft openings 16 are provided in the cover (3 which are provided with air inlet tubes 17 of varying lengths which extend down into the combustion compartment 7, the longest reaching nearly to the bottom of the oil reservoir. A pivoted damper 18 is provided whereby the draft-openings 16 may be opened or closed at will.

Then it is desired to use the heater the fuel reservoir should be filled with oil to a point just below the upper edge of the combustion compartment 7 as shown by the upper broken line in Fig. 1. The pivoted damper should then be moved to its extreme position toward the left as shown by the broken lines in Fig. 2, thereby uncovering all of the draft openings 16. A small quan tity of gasolene may now be injected through the left hand opening 16 .onto the surface of the fuel within the combustion compartment which can then be readily ignited whereupon the burning gasolene willsoon ignite the fuel oil. Only the first or left hand draftopening 3 is to be used at the beginning of the combustion when the reservoir is nearly full, and a draft tube is not I required for this opening as the inrush of the air carries it down to the surface. "When the oil has been consumed down to the level surface of the fuel and if the first opening be closed by the pivoted damper 18, as shown in Fig. 3, the inrush of the air through the draft tube will have considerable velocity and produce something of a blow-torch effect. As the combustion proceeds and the surface level of the oil is thereby further lowered, the longer draft tubes are successively brought into action in the same manner. Since the active surface combustion of the fuel is confined within the area inclosed by the walls of the combustion chamber 7, and the fresh oil to replace that thus consumed is always admitted at the bottom, the

' oil thus more nearly maintains its original quality and specific gravity until substantially all consumed, so that lower grades of oil may be successfully burned in this heater than has been practical heretofore.

The gases formed by the preliminary combustion in the combustion compartment 7 are drawn over and upward through the draft tube or chimney 11 where sufiicient air is supplied through the openings 10,14 and 12 and the horizontal cross tube 15 to make the combustion complete and smokeless.

fitted on the fuel reservoir, :1. series of air inlet openings in said cover located directly above the combustioncompartment, a series of draft tubes of varying lengths extending downward from said air inlet openings, and a draft opening in the cover to allow egress for the generated gases. 1

3. An orchard heater comprising a fuel reservoir, a preliminary combustion compartment within the reservoir, a cover fitted on the fuel reservoir, a draft opening in said cover, a series of air inlet openings in said cover located directly above the combustion compartment, a damper for closing successively said air inlet openings, a series of draft tubes of varying lengths extending downward from said air inlet openings, and a perforated draft tube or chimney extending upward from the draft opening, in the cover of the fuel reservoir.

4. An orchard heater comprising a fuel reservoir, a preliminary combustion compartment within the reservoir, a series of air inlettubes adapted to admit air for preliminary combustion at-or near the surface of the fuel at all times .during combustion, a cover fitted on the fuel reservoir, a draft opening in said cover, a perforated draft tube or chimney secured to the cover of the fuel reservoir inclosing the draft opening, a horizontal cross tube extending through the side walls of the reservoir, and a smaller internal draft tube connected to the cross tube and extending upward withinthe'draft tube or chimney.

5. An orchard heater comprising a fuel reservoir, a cover fitted on said reservoir and having a series of air inlet openings therein, draft tubes of varying lengths extending downward from said air inlet openings, a means whereby one or all of said inlet openings may be closed, and a draft opening in the cover for the passage of generated gases.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES L. HAMILTON.

Witnesses:

E. J. SCI-IIFFER, EDWIN C. JEPsoN. 

